80s Flick Flashback

Whenever the 13th day of the month falls on a Friday we are compelled to return to Crystal Lake to talk about one of our favorite 80’s flick slashers. This time we get the sequel that ultimately changed the direction of its franchise from a cash-grab wannabe to the bonafide horror icon it has become. So grab some 3-D glasses as Tim Williams and guest co-host, Laramy Wells from the "Moving Panels"...

Before " A Different World"  came into its own. Before " Higher Learning"  and " Dear White People"  critiqued the fraught relationship between Black students and white students at predominantly white institutions. And before " grown-ish" , there was this 80’s flick. Multi-talented Spike Lee’s sophomore feature took a critical look at Historically Black Colleges & Universities (aka HBCUs), rev...

In the mid-80s, Hollywood funnyman Chevy Chase was at the height of his fame. After a successful stint on TV’s Saturday Night Live, he’d proven himself a big box office draw in such movies as "Caddyshack" and "National Lampoon's Vacation". In 1985, Chase tried his hand at something a tiny bit more serious with this 80’s Flick - a comedy thriller which cast him in the title role as an investigative...

If you were a kid or a teenager in 1989, no other movie was more anticipated than this iconic 80’s flick. The first superhero movie to take the gritty and grounded approach, it was the comic book event of the decade and the film that transformed the campy Caped Crusader into the brooding Dark Knight. So fire up the Batmobile and meet us in Gotham City as Tim Williams and guest co-host, Laramy Well...

She may have broke your heart as Karen in "The Last American Virgin".  Or maybe she terrified you as the tormented sister and daughter in "Amityville II: The Possession". Perhaps, she inspired you to learn French when she won your heart as Monique in "Better Off Dead". Or maybe, just maybe, you spent way too much time at the Circle K hoping for a time-traveling telephone booth that could transport...

If you have ever hear a crowd chanting “Kumite!” then you have entered rarified territory. You have found die-hard fans of this 80’s flick which made “the Muscles from Brussels” a bonafide movie star and also brought in the biggest box office haul for its distributor Cannon Films that year. Yes, that's THE Cannon Films, which is notorious for making some of the biggest-budget B-Movies of the decad...

In the midst of a Western revival — which included big hits like "Silverado" and "Pale Rider" — came this 80’s flick, a loving parody of the genre and a send-up of Hollywood. It has become a landmark in comedy collaboration, starring three comedy legends under the direction of a bonafide hit movie director with a script co-written by the mastermind of Saturday Night Live. So grab your sombrero and...

“Baby Fishmouth.” “I’ll have what she’s having”. The Wagon Wheel Coffee Table. And the elaborate apple pie order that has inspired thousands of elaborate apple pie orders in diners and restaurants everywhere. In the 30 plus years since this 80’s flick was released, nearly every scene has become iconic and the stuff of rom-com legend. So in honor of Valentine’s Day, cuddle up with the one you love...

While some critics failed it from the outset, this 80’s flick is actually a notch more upscale than most of its fellow D-grade locker-room comedies of the era. It's gained a "cult" reputation for its overall cynical tone, its clever gags, and its zany blend of animation and live-action. A teen comedy that refused to take itself too seriously, even if the subject matter should have been. So unwrap...

John Carpenter directed a slew of classic films including  " Escape From New York",  " They Live",  " Halloween", and  " Big Trouble In Little China". One of his most celebrated works is this 80’s flick. Upon release, the bleak horror movie was panned by critics as boring and over-indulgent with its violence. The masses barely bothered heading to the movie theaters to see it. In the years since, h...

This 80’s flick was meant to be just another chapter in the misadventures of Clark W. Griswold and his family. It has become one of the most surprisingly popular and oft-quoted holiday movies of all time. So dig up your oversized Christmas tree, fill up your Wally World glass mugs with eggnog, and make sure your RV’s "you know what"-er isn’t full as Tim Williams and guest co-host, Bethany Wells, d...

There has been a debate raging on the internet for years as to whether or not “Die Hard” is a Christmas movie. If “Die Hard” is, in fact, a Christmas movie – which I believe it is – then this 80’s Flick deserves the same holiday movie label. A significant scene in the first act takes place at a Christmas tree farm, the soundtrack is packed with holiday carol classics, and the film ends with turkey...

According to Roger Ebert, this 80’s Flick is one of the most depressing children's movies of all time—but try telling that to the millions of kids who fell in love with a mischievous, rebellious, but adorable kid mouse, his emigrating family, and the diverse cast of characters who all help, in one way or another, to reunite them. If you were one of those kids then join Tim Williams, his daughter H...

When this 80’s flick first hit the big screen, movie-goers were jump-scared by a ghostly librarian roaming the quiet aisles of a public library, a multi-story marshmallow man towering over the streets of New York, and slime, lots and lots of slime. Fortunately, four wisecracking misfits were just a phone call away, ready to take down these paranormal pests with their proton packs and ghost traps,...

Horror movies have been around since the late 1800s, yet not all of them are remembered as fondly as others. In 1984, horror master Wes Craven introduced moviegoers to not only one of the most iconic horror movies of the decade, but one of the most iconic figures in horror’s history. So start a fresh pot of coffee, refill your caffeine pills, and whatever you do, don’t fall asleep as Tim Williams...

Horror sequels are tricky business. As critic Tasha Robinson notes in an essay for The Dissolve, “Horror sequels are the exact opposite of horror. Horror is about exploiting the fear of the unknown, but sequels are about capitalizing on the familiar.” So horror sequels must find the balance between delivering more of the same to audiences but also something unknown. How well does this 80’s horror...

“The Goonies”. “Stand By Me”. “Ghostbusters”. “The Little Rascals”. And “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein”. They all share some shred of creative DNA with this bonafide 80’s cult classic. So as we kick-start this year’s spooky Halloween season, sharpen those wooden stakes you made in shop class, hide the silver bullets in your half-empty pack of cigarettes, and prepare to “Bop Til You Drop” a...

Before “Friday Night Lights” there was this often forgotten 80’s flick. It’s not so much a film about the sport of high school football, but the effect of football on its characters. It features solid performances from its young actors, and became an important film in the career of its lead by showcasing the tremendous star power and acting skills of a man who would become a mega-movie-star. So gr...

No bikinis. No blankets. No bingo. This awkwardly titled 80’s flick is a bosom-buddy movie about a friendship that was destined to be -- like surf and turf, M&Ms, Laverne and Shirley, Lucy and Ethel, maybe even Cagney and Lacey. As most buddy movie rules require, it is a tale of enduring friendship between disparate souls, formed against the odds. There are ups and downs. Jealously and redempt...

John Carpenter  described this 80’s flick, which he co-wrote and directed, as an "action adventure comedy kung fu ghost story monster movie." And I can’t really add much more of an intro than that. So come aboard “The Pork Chop Express” as Tim Williams and guest co-host, Gerry D discuss “Big Trouble in Little China” from 1986 on this episode of the 80’s Flick Flashback Podcast! Here are some addit...

The western, which used to be as common in Hollywood as superhero movies are now, enjoyed a surprising revival in popularity in the late 1980s into the 90s. The genre, of course, fizzled out again and faded from memory. Film financiers didn’t see a profit in it and audiences lost their appetite for it. However, for a good 6 years westerns were cool again. They won Oscars, starred some of the bigge...

When hit movie producer, Jerry Bruckheimer was casually flipping through  California  magazine in 1983, he was suddenly struck by an image. It was a picture of fighter pilot’s helmet with a plane reflected in the visor. Staring at the page, Bruckheimer couldn’t escape one thought: “It looked like  Star Wars  on Earth.” That magazine picture - and its accompanying article - set into motion the crea...

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before…a highly anticipated superhero sequel flick has a profound falling out due to creative differences between the movie studio producers and the original film’s director, resulting in that director being fired and a new director being brought in to reshoot scenes, re-edit the new and old footage, and generally lighten the tone with more humor. No, I’m not talki...

Cute. Clever. Mischievous. Intelligent. Dangerous. What more is there to say about this 1984 sleeper hit that somehow morphed the well-worn snowy small town Christmas tales with little monsters your older siblings whispered about around Summer campfires or bonfires at Halloween. So turn off your Zenith television, put away your left over fried chicken, and head to Kingston Falls as Tim Williams an...

If you were a child of the 1980’s then there are just some things you’ll never forget about those lazy days of Summer. Short shorts. Tube socks. Neon colored friendship bracelets. Oakley sunglasses that you either had or wished you had. Walking around with your Sony walkman or boom box with your best cassette mixed tape with all the new pop hits you recorded off of the radio. Songs from artists li...